What is Real?
by Charioteer
Summary: "Have you ever had a dream you were so sure was real?" -Morpheus, The Matrix Rated M for future chapters.
1. The Village on the Hill

**I'm kind of excited about this one simply because, for once, I already know how it's going to end. I'm not sure how long it will be, but I know where it will end and that's better than any of my previous stories. (oneshots not included)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. Also, if you try to sue me, you'll pay more for your lawyer than you could possibly get from poor little me.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: The Village on the Hill<strong>

Rays of sunlight peeked through Raven's curtains. Raven slowly got out of bed and walked to her window. She parted the curtains and peered out at the village just up the hill. _Home sweet home._ This thought gave her pause. _Why does it feel like I've been away? I haven't left the village for over a year._

Shaking her head, Raven got dressed and went to her kitchen. She opened a cabinet and reached for a packet of herbal tea, only to find that she had run out. _Great._ She sighed.

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><p>A bell chimed as Raven pushed open the door to Logan's shop. She glanced up at the tiny bell attached to the wall by the door. "You like it?" Raven looked back down at the small man in front of her. Logan was slightly shorter than Raven and his brown hair was even messier than normal. Raven shrugged. "I hung it there last night. Now I can always tell when I have a customer. Clever, right?" Logan asked, smirking.<p>

"Uh… I guess?" Raven responded uncertainly. Logan's smirk disappeared, but was soon replaced by a grin.

"So," he began, walking back behind the counter. "What can I do for my best customer?"

Raven walked up to the counter. "I'm out of tea."

"Herbal tea, coming up." Logan grabbed a bundle of herbal tea packets from a shelf and put it on the counter.

Raven arched an eyebrow. "You already had bundle ready?"

"I knew you were due to run out today."

Raven placed two silver pieces on the counter and picked up her tea. "Where did you get the idea to put tea in packets?"

Logan scratched his head. "Uh… I don't remember."

"Well it was still a good idea…"

Logan looked dumbfounded. "Was that a compliment?"

Raven paused. "…considering who came up with it."

"Wait. Was that a compliment or an insult?"

"Yes."

Logan looked baffled by Raven's answer. She could almost see the gears spinning wildly in his head as he tried to understand what she said. She didn't know why she enjoyed toying with him like that, but it always improved her mood.

She glanced at his shoulder. "So how's the rash?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Logan started to roll up his left sleeve. "It hasn't gotten any bigger, but something weird happened." As he pulled his sleeve over his shoulder, Raven immediately saw the problem. Against Logan's tan skin was a bright green rash.

Raven blinked. "I told you that wolfs bane was contaminated." Logan hung his head. "Come by my house later. I'll see what I can do." Logan nodded and Raven left with her tea.

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><p>"Yo, Raven!" Stone shouted as she passed. Raven turned to see the large man standing behind an anvil, waving her over. It looked like he was in the middle of making another sword.<p>

"You don't have enough weapons already?" She asked as she approached, eyeing the racks that were bristling with every manner of weapon one could imagine.

Stone looked over his shoulder at his arsenal. "Blame Ser Grayson. He's the one who told the king I was the best blacksmith in the kingdom." Stone turned back to Raven. "His highness, King Wayne, wants me to forge weapons for his personal guard."

"An influx of gold should do the town good."

Stone nodded. "Sure will. Assuming I can get the order filled on time. Which reminds me: one of my apprentices had an accident a couple minutes ago. I sent him down the hill."

"I'll take care of it."

"Thanks. I'm gonna need him."

Raven continued down the path to her house. Sure enough, Stone's apprentice was standing outside her door. He noticed her as she approached. "Good morning, Miss Raven."

"Good morning," she looked at him for a moment. "Seth, isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Come inside," she said, opening the door. He complied and followed her to her living room. She pointed at a simple, wooden chair. "Sit." Seth did as he was told. "What happened?"

Seth raised his right arm. His forearm was covered in a makeshift bandage. "My arm got splashed with some molten metal."

Raven's eyes widened slightly. "Please tell me you cleaned the wound before bandaging it."

Seth looked nervous. "I wiped it off."

Raven rolled her eyes. _It's a wonder some of these people are still alive._ "That's not good enough." She removed the bandage and picked up a small bucket of water and a damp cloth. Seth winced as she began dabbing the wound. When she was done cleaning the wound she took the bucket and cloth into her kitchen. She returned with a few jars of herbs and plants and a fresh bandage. She placed a few choice herbs onto the burn, covered it with a leaf, and wrapped it in the bandage. "There. You should be able to return to work tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Miss Raven." Seth got to his feet and moved to leave, but he stopped when he heard Raven clear her throat. Seth turned to look at her and was met with a fierce glare. "Oh right," he said, reaching into his coin purse. Raven's glare softened a bit when he handed her five silver pieces. "Sorry. It must have slipped my mind." Having paid for the healing, Seth left quickly and returned to the village. Raven returned to her kitchen and fixed a cup of herbal tea.

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><p>Raven spent much of the day meditating in her living room. It was many hours before she heard a knock at her door. She knew who it was before she reached the door. After more than a year here, she could recognize the distinct knock of everyone in the village. "Hello, Logan," she greeted as she opened the door. "Come on in." She led him to her living room and motioned for him to sit in a cushioned armchair. "Take off your shirt." Logan obliged. Raven pretended not to notice the pink tinge now present in his cheeks.<p>

"So did you hear the news?" Logan asked as Raven kneeled down examined his green rash.

"You mean Stone making weapons for the king's men?"

"Uh… that was three days ago."

"Does that hurt?" Raven asked as she poked the rash on his shoulder.

"No."

Raven rose and went into her kitchen. "So what's the news?"

"You know that foreign girl, Burnfire?"

"It's Starfire."

"Close enough." Raven rolled her eyes. "Anyway, she got a job at the tavern yesterday and Stone and Ser Grayson decided to throw her a party."

Raven returned with a small bottle of clear liquid with leaf clippings floating in it. "Good for them."

"The whole village is invited." Raven dabbed some of the liquid onto her hand and began rubbing it onto the rash. She glanced at Logan's face and realized he was waiting for her to say something.

"No."

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun, I promise."

Raven sighed as she finished her work. "I'll think about it."

Logan smiled. "Thanks, Raven."

"There," Raven said, putting the lid on the bottle she was holding. "That should do it. I'll come by the shop tomorrow to check on it. I need to restock a few things anyway." Logan got to his feet and put on his shirt. Then he opened his coin purse. "I told you last time, Logan. No charge."

Logan pulled out two silver pieces and held them out to her. "And I told you the same thing about the tea, remember?" Raven smiled slightly as she took back the money she gave him that morning. "The party's starting just after sundown. I'll see you there," Logan said, heading for the door.

Raven's eyes narrowed. "I never said I was going." Logan said nothing as he walked out the door and back to the village. Raven turned to go back to her kitchen when she noticed something on the armchair Logan had been sitting on. It was his coin purse. _He left that there on purpose, didn't he?_

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><p>As Raven opened the door to the tavern, she saw that while the whole village may have been invited, very few had actually bothered to show up. Logan was there, of course, flashing a grin as he saw her enter. Starfire pretty much had to be there. It was her party, after all. Stone and Ser Grayson were there as well. Oddly, the tavern's owner was not present. Neither was anyone else. Raven sighed and walked up to Logan.<p>

Logan turned to look at her just in time to have his coin purse shoved into his face. "You left this at my house."

"Oh, thanks," he said, taking the coin purse back. Raven turned around and started to leave. "Wait, aren't you staying for the party?"

Raven turned back around. "What party? There's just five of us."

Ser Grayson noticed that Starfire was looking very hurt that no one else had come to the party and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Starfire, I'm sure everyone's on their way. Everyone who's met you likes you and who doesn't like parties?" This seemed to cheer Starfire up a bit.

"Besides," Stone added sarcastically, "who would say no to an invitation given to them by the great Ser Grayson?" The knight in question looked at Stone blankly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I thought you were handing out the invitations."

"Me? I've hardly left my anvil all day, and I distinctly remember you saying you'd hand out the invitations."

"I was out meeting one of the king's messengers today. I only got back into town half an hour ago."

"Then," interjected Starfire, "no one sent the invitations?"

Stone and Ser Grayson looked at Starfire and then each other. "Oops," they both said in unison.

Raven shook her head. _Why am I not surprised?_

Starfire actually looked more upbeat than before. "So no one has not come because they do not like me, it is simply a misunderstanding?" Everyone else nodded. Starfire grinned.

Raven sighed again. She was now trapped. If she left now Starfire would think she didn't like her. Granted, they had very little in common and Raven couldn't stand her sometimes, but Starfire was one of only a few people in the village who wasn't immediately put off by Raven's seemingly cold nature.

The party wasn't so bad with so few people. There were small pastries and drinks. Everyone just sat around talking. Ser Grayson thrilled them with slightly embellished tales of his more recent adventures. Stone shared some of the local gossip. Starfire shared stories of her homeland, half of which no one could really follow. Logan tried to play the jester. No one laughed until he slipped while trying to balance one handed on a chair with an empty bottle perched on his foot. As Raven sat listening to another of Starfire's stories, she leaned back in her chair and looked at her friends. A small smile tugged at her lips. It was good to have friends.

After the party, everyone went their separate ways. Raven returned to her home and plopped onto her bed without bothering to change into her nightgown. She closed her eyes and felt herself drift into sleep.

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><p><em>Raven…<em>


	2. The City on the Water

**I'm making progress. I've even figured out the basic outline of what's going to happen in the story. An important thing to know, yes? Sorry if it took longer than expected. I hit a little speed bump, but I should be over that now. Hopefully, anyway.**

**Disclaimer(is this really necessary?): I do not claim ownership of anything. Please don't sue me. etc.**

**Please enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: The City on the Water<strong>

Raven's eyes opened slowly as she sat up. Sunlight poured into her room. Raven got out of bed and looked out her window at the city she called her home. For a moment she had expected to see a village like the one in her dream. After a minute, she grabbed her robe and left her room.

As Raven entered the living room, she saw Beast Boy and Cyborg in the kitchen arguing once again about who would cook breakfast. Meanwhile, Robin had already made breakfast and he and Starfire were eating at the table, watching the two boys. Raven walked to the kitchen and started to prepare a cup of herbal tea. Beast Boy caught sight of her and grinned.

"Hey Raven," he started, walking over to her holding a plate of what she assumed was tofu eggs. "Want some tofu eggs?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "What was my answer last time?"

Beast Boy's smile faltered. "Uhh, no?"

"And the time before that?" she asked as she put her kettle on the stove.

"No?"

"And every time you have ever asked me that question?"

Beast Boy hung his head. "No."

Raven looked at him and sighed. "If you promise to never ask me again, I'll try a bite."

Beast Boy went from depressed to ecstatic so fast it almost made Raven's head spin watching it. Beast Boy offered her a fork and she took it. She could see Cyborg out of the corner of her eye desperately signaling for her to stop. She took a small bit of tofu egg and put it in her mouth. She chewed for a moment and swallowed. Robin and Starfire had come to the kitchen and all the Titans were now watching her, waiting for her reaction to Beast Boy's egg substitute.

"It doesn't really taste like eggs…but it's not bad." Beast Boy grinned ear to ear as Raven took the plate and started eating the rest of it.

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><p>Raven was sitting on her bed, thinking about the dream she had the night before. It had seemed so real. But now that she was awake, it was obvious that it wasn't. She did wonder why Beast Boy was named Logan in her dream. As far as she knew, his real name was Garfield. Logan could be his surname, but she couldn't remember ever hearing it. Raven stood and began pacing. <em>How can I know something in a dream that I don't know in the real world? Maybe the dream was prophetic?<em> She considered this a moment. _No. If it was prophetic, it wouldn't be happening in the past. Perhaps it was a vision of a past life?_ She stopped. _Wait. How do I know that's even his real surname?_ Sighing, Raven sat on her bed and began meditating.

She was not meditating very long before the alarm blared. She swiftly flew through her door and down the hall to the living room. She got there at the same time as Starfire. On the monitor was Control Freak's creepy grin.

"Dude!" Beast Boy complained. "I was about to win!" He was still holding the game station controller.

"You were not!" retorted Cyborg, also still holding a controller.

"Was too!"

"Enough!" shouted Control Freak. "I have created the ultimate gauntlet to test your powers and skill!"

"We don't want any part of it," Robin said, crossing his arms.

"You don't have a choice." The image of Control Freak vanished and the screen glowed bright white. Five bolts of electricity leapt from the screen and enveloped each titan.

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><p>Raven groaned as she sat up. She was on a cold, concrete floor. Looking around, she saw that she was in a small, barren room. It felt more like a box. She got to her feet and turned to face the only doorway. Beyond it was a narrow hallway as barren as the room she was in. <em>Great.<em> She walked slowly down the hallway. Something was very wrong. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all solid concrete. There were no light sources anywhere. So why wasn't it dark?

Raven felt part of the floor give way slightly and heard a click. She ducked just in time as a dart shot out from a tiny hole in the wall. She tried to levitate, but her powers weren't responding. She looked carefully at the floor and began walking forward; stepping around anything that looked like it might be a pressure plate. She was nearly to the end of the hall when she ran into a wire that was at about chest level. She heard mechanical noises behind her and turned to see spikes coming out of the floor. More spikes came up closer to her and even more came up even closer.

Raven turned and ran, stepping on about five pressure plates in her attempt to evade the spiked floor. The darts released missed her, but as she crossed the threshold, she noticed too late that the room beyond had no floor. As she fell, she was enveloped in complete darkness. She tried again to call upon her powers, but to no avail. Just then, she saw a light coming from behind her. She twisted around and saw a green bull busting out of a wall. The bull turned into a pterodactyl and flew towards her. She grabbed one of its legs and it flew upward, past the hallway she had fallen from. The prehistoric creature continued its ascent and burst through the ceiling as though the concrete was paper.

They were in what looked like a movie set. The concrete walls were, in fact, paper. They set down near the hall Raven had gone through. There were lights above it that shone through the paper ceiling and machines on either side, presumably to fire the darts that came out of the walls. Beast Boy turned back into a human and looked around. "I don't get it. Why does Control Freak need all this smoke and mirror stuff? What happened to his magic remote?"

"It's in the tower's evidence room," Raven replied.

"Like that's ever stopped him before."

"What I don't get is how he disabled my powers."

"Oh, right." Beast Boy reached up to the back of Raven's neck and took off something she didn't even notice was there. Suddenly, she felt her powers return. She looked down at the tiny device in Beast Boy's hand. It was a metal disk about a centimeter in diameter.

"Thanks."

A loud crash caught their attention. A mass of scaffolding and paper was collapsing. Out from the rubble came the other three titans. "Yo!" Cyborg shouted. "Where's Control Freak?"

Raven shrugged. Robin stepped forward. "Alright team, spread out and find him."

The titans split up and searched, but after 20 minutes they all returned empty handed. "I do not understand," said Starfire. "Is Control Freak not here?"

"Yeah," agreed Cyborg. "I would've at least expected another trap or something."

Robin frowned. "I have a bad feeling about this. Back to the tower, team."

The titans returned home and Robin led them to the evidence room. Sure enough, Control Freak's remote was gone. Beast Boy scratched his head. "So that whole gauntlet thing was just a distraction so he could get his remote back?" Raven nodded.

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><p>Raven was meditating on the roof when she heard the door open. Beast Boy walked up beside her and looked out at the sunset. "Thanks," Raven said.<p>

"For what?" Beast Boy asked.

"For catching me."

"Oh, right." Beast Boy rubbed his neck. For a while, neither said anything.

"Beast Boy?"

"Yeah?"

"I know your first name is Garfield." Beast Boy shifted slightly. "But what's your last name?"

Beast Boy was surprised by the question. After a moment, he answered. "Logan."

Raven showed no outward reaction, but inside, she was confused. _How did I know that was his name? I'm sure I've never heard it before._

After a while, they both said goodnight and went to their respective rooms. Raven was still puzzling over what her dream could mean as she got into bed.

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><p><em>Raven…<em>


	3. The Ship in the Sky

**Sorry this took so long. My vision for this story hasn't been entirely linear. I keep thinking of things that I want to do in later chapters and have trouble thinking of how the story's even going to get that far. Hopefully, as time goes by, it'll get easier to focus on the current chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own no rights to anything, period.**

**PS: I know the chapter names haven't been very original so far, I'll try harder going forward.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: The Ship in the Sky<strong>

A soft tone roused Raven from her sleep. She opened her eyes and glanced at the display to her right. It showed her vitals: all normal. Words appeared on the glass in front of her. "Good morning, Raven. The time is 0800 hours, Jump Station standard time." The glass in front of her split down the middle and opened. She stepped out of the sleeping pod. The pod on her right slid open and her crewmate, Garfield hopped out.

"Jump Station?" questioned Garfield. "I thought we were going to Steel Station."

Raven raised her eyebrow as she looked at her green friend. "How would you know? You fall asleep halfway through most of our meetings."

Garfield was about to respond when they heard their captain call their names. "Garfield, Raven, we're having a meeting right after breakfast." They both turned to face Captain Grayson and nodded. Captain Grayson turned and left.

"I guess we better get something to eat," Garfield said as he made his way towards the kitchen.

"I'm not hungry," replied Raven, though she followed him down the hallway.

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><p>"So what do you think the meeting's gonna be about?" asked Garfield as he rummaged through the shelves, looking for anything that wasn't labeled "protein paste".<p>

"How should I know?" Raven said from the other side of the kitchen, placing her tea kettle on the stove.

"You think Dick's gonna give me a raise?"

"Not if you keep calling him that."

Garfield turned to face Raven. "But that's his name, isn't it?"

Raven turned to face Garfield. "Yes, but he's also the captain, and he likes to be addressed as such."

Garfield thought for a moment. "So what if I call him 'Captain Dick'?"

Raven rolled her eyes and turned back to her tea kettle. Garfield finally settled on a packet of protein paste as he was unable to find anything else. He sat at the table and started eating. Raven sat across from him with a cup of herbal tea. "The meeting will probably be about a job."

"I hope so. I'm getting so sick of eating this stuff." Garfield wasn't actually eating his paste. He was just poking it with his fork. He glanced at Raven's cup. "Can I have some of that?"

Raven was surprised. "I thought you didn't like tea."

"I've never actually had it before."

"Sorry. This is my last cup."

"Oh, never mind then."

They finished in silence and made their way to the common room. The rest of the crew was already there waiting for them. Victor was sitting on a couch that sagged beneath the cyborg's weight. Koriand'r was sitting on a small stool and Captain Grayson was standing next to a small monitor. Garfield sat next to Victor while Raven leaned against the wall by the door.

"Now that everyone's here, let's get started," said Captain Grayson, turning to the monitor and pushing a few buttons on the side. An image of a man in his early 20s appeared. "This is Steven Grant, Governor Grant's younger son."

"Don't tell me he's our bounty," replied Victor.

"Steven Grant was assassinated three nights ago. Someone has been targeting the governor's family for over a month." Captain Grayson pushed another button and a picture of another man, this one a few years older, appeared on the monitor. "This is Governor Grant's older son and the last member of his family: Andrew Grant."

"So what's the job?" Raven asked.

"We've been hired to protect Andrew Grant. The Assassin has been striking every three nights."

"That means he'll strike tonight, right?" asked Garfield.

"Correct."

"How are we to recognize this assassin?" asked Koriand'r.

"Unfortunately, we only have one image of him and it isn't very good." Captain Grayson pushed a button and the monitor showed a very fuzzy image of a figure in black typing on a computer console.

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><p>"Alright, team. Our meeting with Mr. Grant is in two hours," Announced Captain Grayson as the crew of the Titan stepped off the ship. "Make sure you're at his office by then." The Titans then split up. Raven went to an organic food market to get some more tea.<p>

On the way, she thought back to her dual dream. While they were both very different from each other, not to mention from her real life, there were many common themes. The Titan's crew was always there, her captain seemed to retain some form of leadership position, and Garfield was a constant, yet oddly endearing, annoyance. The thing that bothered her was that in her second dream, she thought she had woken up. How could she be sure that the world she was in now was not just another dream?

Raven shook her head as she reached the market. She was taking her dream too seriously. She pushed the thought aside and began to search for the tea she had come to buy.

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><p>"Hey, Raven," said Garfield, walking up to Raven as she examined the price of the herbal tea packets.<p>

"What is it, Garfield?"

"What're you up to?"

Raven sighed. "Not buying tea." She turned to leave.

"Why not? Aren't you out?"

"It's too expensive."

"How much do you need?"

"If I had ten more credits, I could afford it."

"Here." Raven turned around to find Garfield handing her ten credits.

Raven shook her head. "No, Garfield. You keep it."

Garfield took Raven's hand and put the credits in it. "Call it a birthday present."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "My birthday was six months ago."

Garfield scratched the back of his head. "Uh… call it a _late_ birthday present?"

Raven sighed again.

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><p>Andrew Grant's house was larger than Raven would have hoped. There was no way that five mercenaries would be able to cover every point of entry. She and Garfield were cleared to enter and found Captain Grayson, Koriand'r, and Mr. Grant in Mr. Grant's study. It was only a few seconds before Victor joined them. Once everyone had arrived, Grayson jumped straight into the strategy for that night. As Mr. Grant was unwilling to leave his home, and Grayson's crew didn't have the manpower to ensure that the assassin didn't make it inside, they would guard key points within the house. Victor was to stand guard in Mr. Grant's bedroom, with Raven patrolling right outside. Koriand'r was instructed to guard the main security office, and Garfield and Grayson would be patrolling the halls.<p>

As the crew moved to their assigned posts, Garfield hung back. "Something wrong?" Raven asked, staying behind to talk to him.

Garfield shrugged. "I just don't like the plan."

"The captain knows what he's doing." Raven thought for a moment. It did seem like a bad idea, spreading them all out like that. "But I think you're right. I don't like the idea of us all being on our own."

"Exactly," Garfield said. Raven felt an unusual connection between her and her friend. It wasn't often that their thoughts were in sync like this. "I mean, hasn't he ever watched a single horror vid? Splitting up is the last thing you're supposed to do." _And…there it went._

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><p>The first several hours of Raven's patrol outside Mr. Grant's bedroom were quiet as can be. She was floating a few inches above the ground so that she knew any footsteps she heard wouldn't be her own. It was about four hours before anything happened. As she was making another pass in front of the bedroom door, she noticed that the light on the door's keypad had turned off. Raven typed the passcode into the keypad, but nothing happened. The door remained locked. That was confirmation that the assassin was in the house. And as the only way to disable a door's keypad was from the security office, he must have gotten to Koriand'r.<p>

Raven was about to alert the others when she heard a loud thud from inside the bedroom. With no time to waste, Raven forced open the door with her telekinetics. Unfortunately, she was too late. Victor lay face down on the floor and the assassin was standing on the bed with his katana imbedded in Mr. Grant's chest. Or rather, _her_ katana. Even given the darkness of the room and the assassin's clothes, Raven could make out a clearly female silhouette.

The masked assassin glanced at Raven before quickly sheathing her blade and leaping through an open air vent. Raven followed. Though the assassin was fast, she couldn't lose her pursuer. After a full minute of being chased through the ducts, the assassin burst through a vent on the roof. As Raven emerged from said vent, she saw just in time the dagger that was flying toward her. It stopped just in front of her face and she saw the poison dripping from its tip. The assassin softly clapped her hands. "Well done, freak. You haven't lost your touch."

Raven's blood turned to ice as the assassin spoke. She knew that voice. Letting, the dagger drop to the ground, Raven stepped out of the vent proper. "You're supposed to be dead," she said, eyes narrowing and voice dripping with hate.

The assassin crossed her arms. "And yet, I'm not."

"I watched you die."

"You did more than that, freak." In one swift movement, the assassin unsheathed her blade and brought it down on Raven's neck. Raven was expecting this, however, and easily deflected it with a small force field on her forearm. The assassin continued her assault, but Raven countered every blow. After a few seconds of this, Raven saw an opening and exploited it, knocking the assassin's katana out of her hand. Raven followed this up by punching the assassin in the face as hard as she could.

The assassin's mask broke in half, the pieces falling off. Her blonde hair seemed to pour out of where it had been tucked under the back of the mask. She looked up at Raven and their eyes locked. The assassin's eyes were like ice, and even colder than the last time they had met.

Before Raven could react, the assassin threw a disc at Raven's feet. The resulting blast knocked her back and blinded her. She heard the assassin take up her sword. "Catch you later, freak." Raven heard her run away, but was too stunned to follow. As her vision began to clear she saw Garfield and Grayson standing over her.

Raven felt herself starting to slip away, but before she lost consciousness, she managed to get out a single word: "Terra…"

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><p>…<em>so sorry…<em>

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><p><strong>If you liked it, tell me what I did right. If you didn't, tell me what I did wrong.<strong>


	4. Going Green

**If you're disappointing in how long it's taking me to update this, you're not alone. I am too. However, I now have a detailed outline so I'll be able to update faster... I hope. *sigh***

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and am not in the mood to think of something smartass to say.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: Going Green<strong>

Raven woke abruptly. She sat up and looked around. She was back in her bed, in her cottage. She had just had the strangest dreams, dreams in which the real world was a dream. _Unless this is the dream._ That thought did not sit well with her. But she couldn't deny that each of her dreams felt as real to her as her room felt now. And when she was dreaming, the real world felt like a dream. _Enough, this is silly. I know what's real._

Raven got out of bed, made a cup of tea to help her relax, and sat in her living room, drinking it and trying to clear her mind. When she was finished, she left her house and walked up the hill to Logan's shop. Oddly, the shop was closed.

Raven made her way to Stone's smithy and found him, once again, pounding away at his anvil. "Stone!" she shouted over the sounds of hammer on blade.

Stone stopped and looked up. "What's up, Raven?"

"Have you seen Logan today?"

"No. He's usually in his shop by now."

"I checked. He's not there."

"I'll let you know if I see him," Stone said, turning his attention back to his work. Raven raised an eyebrow. _How does he expect to see him if he doesn't look up?_

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><p>Raven entered the tavern and saw Starfire cleaning one of the tables. "Starfire, have you seen Logan today?"<p>

"I am afraid not, Raven. Why, is he not in his shop of herbs?"

"No, he's not."

"Have you gone to his home?"

"No. I'll try that next," Raven answered as she turned to leave.

Raven nearly ran headlong into Ser Grayson on her way out of the tavern. "Sorry, Raven," he said.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" Raven asked.

"I've got to talk to Stone about tomorrow's presentation."

"Presentation?"

"Yeah, I'm going to be presenting Stone's weapons to the king's advisor, Wilson."

He was about to leave when she stopped him. "Have you seen Logan?"

"Not since last night." Raven let him run off to the smithy while she walked to Logan's house.

When she got there, Raven saw that all the curtains had been pulled closed, which was very unusual for Logan. She walked up to the door and knocked. After a moment, she heard a faint voice on the other side of the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Raven." The door unlocked and opened slightly. "Logan?" Raven said uncertainly before stepping inside. The door closed and locked behind her. She turned around and saw immediately why Logan hadn't left his house. His skin had turned green. In fact, it was the same shade that it was in both of her dreams.

For a few seconds, she just stared at him, unsure of what to say or even what to think. Eventually, Logan broke the silence. "On the bright side, the rash is gone."

"But your skin…"

"Yeah, you think you could help with that?"

"I can try." Logan put on a cloak to hide his skin and they made their way to Raven's house. When they got there, Raven had him sit in the cushioned chair again and told him to take off his shirt. Logan was once again unable to hide his blush as Raven knelt down to examine his skin. "How much of your skin has changed?"

"All of it."

Raven walked to her bookshelf and pulled out several tomes. For hours, Raven studied them while Logan simply sat. Raven couldn't believe how quiet he was being. She looked up and found that he had fallen asleep. Rolling her eyes, she went back to examining her books, but glanced back up. She was surprised to see how defined Logan's muscles were. She had never really paid attention to that sort of thing before. _Even with the green skin, he doesn't look half bad._ This thought surprised and disturbed Raven. Blushing slightly and very grateful that Logan was asleep, she returned to her books.

Unfortunately, she was unable to find any mention of Logan's condition. Nearly the whole day passed as she read through volume after volume. Though she couldn't find a definite cure, her studies did point her to a possible remedy.

An hour later, she was shaking Logan awake. Logan's brown eyes traveled from the hand on his shoulder, to Raven's face, to the sickeningly greenish-yellow concoction in her other hand. He gulped. "Please tell me I don't have to drink that," he pleaded.

"Afraid so," answered Raven.

Logan took the remedy warily and brought it to his lips. To Raven's surprise, he was able to down the entire drink without gagging once. Though the look on his face when he was done confirmed Raven's suspicions regarding the taste. When he had recovered, he glanced at the window. "Wow, it's pretty late."

Raven looked outside and saw that the sun had already set. "You should probably head home."

Logan looked nervous. "Could you come with me?" Raven raised an eyebrow. "I just don't want to be out alone when I'm like this."

Raven nodded. "Sure." Logan put his shirt and cloak back on and they made their way up the hill.

When they reached Logan's house, he turned to Raven. "Thanks for everything Raven."

"You don't need to thank me."

"Yes I do. You do so much for everyone here and you don't get thanked nearly enough. So thank you, Raven."

Raven smiled slightly. "You're welcome, Logan." Logan opened his door and stepped inside. "I'll come by tomorrow to see how you're doing. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Raven." Logan closed the door and Raven returned home. She once again didn't bother changing before collapsing on her bed and immediately falling asleep.

* * *

><p>…<em>please…<em>


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